Christmas Day at The Peak

Hazy Hong Kong when we reached The Peak

Christmas Day has finally arrived, and a quick look out of the 30th floor window has confirmed that we won't be getting a white Christmas this year. On the bright side, we won't see Noel Edmonds or the Queen on TV either.

I made an early start on the Bombay Sapphire and we took the short walk to Laura and Scott's for the present opening. I'll spare you a list of the presents but we had an very enjoyable time and it did feel like Christmas - with a much better view than usual (but no log fire). After beer and champagne on top of the gin, I was in danger of peaking early, so I decided to slow down a bit.

The Peak Lookout Restaurant

In the afternoon we set of for our Christmas dinner. This involved taking the ferry across from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, then 2 taxis to the bottom of The Peak Tramway. There we joined a huge queue of people waiting to take Hong Kong's most popular tourist attraction to the top of The Peak. I was amazed by how many people were here on Christmas Day and we had a long, but good-natured, wait to take the Tramway. Luckily we'd allowed plenty of time before dinner.

Santa (I preferred yesterday's)

Eventually we boarded the tram but never managed to get seats, so held on very tightly as the furnicular railway climbed at quite ridiculous angles up the mountainside. When we reached the top we walked through a series of tourist trap shops selling all sorts of tat, and walked outside to take some photos of the view. Unfortunately it was too hazy to see much of the city - it was also bloody cold and had started to rain slightly.

After a short wait we went to the Peak Lookout restaurant, which looked like a quaint and very well decorated restaurant in the Austrian Alps, and felt really Christmassy. We had party hats and noisy toys... and Santa came round for a photo op. We had a fantastic time and the food was great - I don't think we could have had a better venue here for Christmas dinner.

Hong Kong from The Sky Terrace at Night

Following dinner we took the escalators to the Sky Terrace right at the top of The Peak, to take some photos. Luckily the rain had stopped and the haze had lifted, and we did get some really fantastic views of the city, which made a fitting climax to the day.

We took one look at the queue waiting to take the return trim on the Tramway and decide to return by taxi, but the first taxi driver tried to rip us off, and we saw a bus nearby - so we took this instead. I wouldn't say the bus was a pleasant experience, but it certainly was an experience. The driver took us at breakneck speeds down the very winding roads - we had some fantastic views on the way, but Sally and I were feeling rather nauseous by the time we reached the ferry. We took the ferry back to TST (Tsim Sha Tsui - don't ask) where Scott and his parents went for a drink at the Peninsula Hotel and Sally, Laura and I took a taxi back to the apartments so we could talk to family back in the UK.

Location:The Peak, Hong Kong

Christmas Eve

Victoria Harbour at sunset

Yesterday I had a very quiet day (it was really nice not to have to rush out to catch a flight or go on a tour) and left Sally and Laura to go shopping together. I went for a walk along the waterfront for an hour and took some photos - and Sal came back completely exhausted from the shops. We had intended to pick up some ready-cooked chinese food from the supermarket, but left it too late so went out for a chinese meal instead.

Shopping mall

Today Scott's parents were arriving from the UK, so Sally and I went out to the shops by ourselves on Hong Kong Island. I wanted to look at iPads in the shops as they are a lot cheaper here than the UK, so we took the MTR and went to a shopping mall in Times Square. The MTR is like the London Underground, except its cheap, clean, reliable and very well-organised, like almost everything here.

Thank you Santa

The shopping mall was very impressive, on 9 floors, with similar products grouped by floor. Most shops selling iPads were on floor 7 and all of them were selling them at exactly the same price as they appear in the Hong Kong Apple Store on the web (between £100 and £150 cheaper than the UK). I was tempted, but in the end didn't buy one as I honestly can't justify it; it would be just a nice toy (and anyway, iPad 2 should be coming out soon!).

Location:Hong Kong

Final Destination - Hong Kong

Hong Kong Christmas lights

On our return to our hotel in Hanoi we checked back in, to find we'd been upgraded to a very swish suite - and again our bed had been decorated with a large heart of red rose petals. Again, we took our lives in our hands to go out and look for a restaurant that had been recommended by our guide, the 'Green Tangarine'; we did find it, but it was fully booked - so we revisited the restaurant from two nights earlier, on a rooftop overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake, high above the chaos.

Yesterday morning we were driven to the airport to catch our flight to Hong Kong. We had a short delay due to a plane change but before long we were on our way to our final destination of this trip - Hong Kong. It was only a 90 minute flight and we enjoyed some amazing views of Hong Kong as we came in to land.

Reunion

Hong Kong Airport was a very welcome breath of fresh air (quite literally) after the Vietnamese airports we'd been through and everything looked so clean, friendly and well-organised. Unfortunately, for the first time on this trip, nobody was there to meet us when we arrived, and we had an anxious time trying to contact Laura before Sally spotted her waiting for us in arrivals - about an hour too late and without her phone!

We took the train to Kowloon Station with Scott and Laura, and then a taxi onto the apartment we'll be staying in for the next 10 days. It's in a large block overlooking the waterway between the mainland and Hong Kong island and on the 30th floor, so it does have some impressive views, but is quite tiny - which is the norm here.

Hong Kong waterfront view

In the evening we took a stroll along the waterfront enjoying the spectacular views of the buildings and Christmas lights and then had our first non-asian food for some time. I love asian food and really enjoyed almost every meal in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam - but the burger I had here did make a very welcome change; the price of a beer didn't though - £6 a pint instead of the £1 I've been used to paying lately!

Location:Hong Kong

Halong Bay by junk

Halong Bay from Titop Island

Today was another day Sally and I have been particularly looking forward to. After seeing Halong Bay on TV(including Top Gear in Vietnam), numerous films, in magazines, and on the internet we've wanted to come and see the hundreds of spectacular limestone rock formations, just off the coast of north-east Vietnam - about 100km from the Chinese border.

Sung Sot Cave

We took an overnight cruise, by traditional junk, amongst the rocks and islands of this UNESCO World Heritage site. We called at a spectacular cave called Sung Sot Cave (Cave of Surprises), which involved climbing 125 steps up a cliff, and Titop Island which has a lookout point at it's peak. I decided to risk a coronary and climb the 465 steps to the top but Sally thought she'd sit it out and relax on the boat. Sally was probably more sensible than me, but there was a lovely view from the top - once I'd wiped the sweat from my eyes.

Lunch was provided on the junk, 8 courses of which most were seafood (Sally doesn't eat seafood!), also dinner (again 8 courses of seafood!). After dinner we sat on the deck, under the full moon chatting to the other guests on the cruise and Sally spotted a spectacular meteor (which I missed), and then retired to our very cosy cabin.

Daybreak in Halong Bay

In the morning I got up early and sat on the deck while the sun rose - at least I assume it rose because it did get light, but low cloud and light drizzle prevented me from actually seeing it.

Breakfast was at 7am sharp and consisted of ham and eggs and hot bread rolls with butter and jam (no fish!!). Afterwards we all disembarked into a rowing boat and were taken through a cave with a very low roof and into an enclosed lagoon beyond, where we watched macaque monkeys playing on the cliffs near the boat.

Before we disembarked for the 4 hour drive back to Hanoi we were fed brunch; another meal of many courses with lots of seafood. Sally loved it.

Macaques

The drive back to Hanoi is not through the most attractive countryside and we both nodded off from time to time. On the outskirts of Hanoi our guide pointed out a woman riding a moped - with a bundle of 8 grilled dogs on the back. Both Sally and I did find this shocking, even though we'd been told that the Vietnamese do eat dog.

Location:Halong Bay, Vietnam

Hanoi, North Vietnam

Not much to say about today really; we haven't really been to see anything as it's a travelling day. We've flown from Saigon in South Vietnam to Hanoi in the North. Hanoi is the capital and administrative centre of Vietnam whereas Saigon is slightly larger, and the the main commercial centre.

We're staying in the old quarter of Hanoi which is quite quaint, with many old buildings and narrow streets. Later on we'll be braving the traffic (which we're told is even worse than Saigon!!) to go out for dinner, and tomorrow we'll be driven to Halong Bay where we'll be sailing on a traditional junk into the bay, and spending the night on board in our own cabin.

Location:Anise Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam

Good Morning Vietnam!

A bunker were the VCs held meetings

We only had one place to visit today; the Cu Chi Tunnels, about 90 minutes drive from our hotel in Saigon. The tunnels were dug by Viet Cong guerillas in the Vietnam War to hide from the Americans, shelter from bombings and to make surprise attacks. The entire tunnel system is over 200km long and even extended under the American base, so the guerillas were able to make surprise attacks inside the base and then disappear back into the tunnels without the Americans knowing where they came from.

A typical meal for a VC guerilla

It was fascinating to see how resourceful the Viet Cong had been, using the jungle to provide food and weapons and American tyres to make sandals and parachutes to make camouflage capes. We did try some of the food they ate, green leaf tea and cassava with ground peanut, salt and pepper - it was good, but I wouldn't want it every meal.

We saw the bunkers where they slept, ate, had meetings, made weapons (including some very vicious traps) and clothes, and also one they used as a field hospital. Every bunker had at least 2 entrances, one of them into the tunnel system.

B52 bomb crater

The whole site was peppered with large craters made by 500lb bombs dropped by B52 bombers and there was also the remains of an American tank, which was destroyed by a mine made by the guerillas.

After returning to the hotel we spent an hour exploring the centre of Saigon on foot. Crossing roads here is an adventure in itself, even on pedestrian crossings cars and motorbikes will pass in front and behind you, only stopping when they have to, and at the last moment.

Christmas in Saigon

Some people in Vietnam are obviously doing quite well these days judging from the number of expensive fashion shops, including Gucci; but we also walked along streets smelling of sewerage with dead rats in the gutter - so they've a way to go yet.

We went out again later for a meal and then a drink. The city was packed with people, most of them young and dressed up for a night out (it was Saturday) and almost all of them taking photos of each other in various weird poses - what's that all about?

Location:Cu Chi Tunnels, Near Saigon, Vietnam

Goodbye Cambodia

This morning we left our hotel at 10am and were driven to the airport along a road that everybody else in Phnom Penh seemed to be using at the same time. After paying the $25 US each departure tax (what happens if you can't pay?) we took a flight from Phnom Penh International Airport to Saigon - lasting all of 30 minutes.

Street food seller

We were met at the airport by our next guide, Lam, and set off into the city. We were having a half day city tour and it was already after 2pm so, rather than go directly to our hotel we did the tour first. The first thing we noticed is that the traffic is even worse than in Phnom Penh; there are no tuk tuks, but almost everybody has a moped and the road looks like a sea of them. It is slightly more organised in the sense that road users tend to stick to the correct side of the road most of the time, but the sheer numbers are hard to take in. Our guide tells us that when we are in Hanoi it will be even more chaotic!

Thien Hau Temple

The tour started in Chinatown where we visited Thien Hau temple, dedicated to 'The Lady of the Sea'; it was interesting, but smoky (due to the amount of incense burned) and quite dark. Nowhere near as impressive as some of the buddhist temples we've seen.

Pots & Pans section of Binh Tay Market

We then went to Binh Tay market, which is a large wholesale market that where you can buy almost everything. It is truly an amazing site, but after the travelling and the constant pushing through crowds we were starting to get a bit tired.

Tank & Chinook left behind when Americans left Vietnam

This was followed by a stop at the War Remnants Museum which is full of harrowing photos, accounts and remnants of the American phase of the Vietnam War (or the American War as they call it here). It does give a different perspective on the war than I had from growing up with western TV reports, and the suffering inflicted on the people of Vietnam, mainly by the Americans, was awful - but it didn't have quite the same impact on us as S-21 and the killing fields of Phnom Penh. I think this was because the brutality was inflicted in a the context of a war, rather than being inflicted on their own people - but it could be we are just getting 'atrocity fatigue'.

On the way to the hotel we visited Notre Dame Cathedral. By now we were so tired that we were both glad that it was closed for some catholic religious ritual, and the Post Office (which looks like a station) just across the road was interesting, but slightly underwhelming.

Sally at our evening meal

The hotel, on the other hand, is not disappointing, the staff are friendly and helpful and the room is great. We finished the day with an excellent meal at a restaurant just around the corner from the hotel, two high quality courses with drinks for 441,000 Vietnam dong including service (that's just under £15).

Location:Asian Ruby Hotel, Saigon, Vietnam